Hip?

As most of you know, my mom has been battling breast cancer since January this year. Her entire left breast along with all her lymph nodes were removed. She is listed as having stage IIIC breast cancer. She will be 88 in 18 days. She is a bright caring woman who is sharp as a tack. Unfortunately, because of everything going on with her health, she was worried about some mild memory loss that she's been experiencing. Her doctor did some lab tests and a CT scan and referred her to the Geriatric Department. Her appointment was today, but please bear with me as I go back a little. Last week, while I was on vacation, her doctor's office called her and told her she needed an MRI. When she asked why, the nurse said there was an abnormality. Naturally, this not only got my mom upset, but it also caused much distress on my part. Cancer is serious business, and just the thought of her going through brain surgery had me fearing for her life. Today I got lots of answers.


The good news (according to the test results) is that my mom might be slower than she used to be, but she's much faster and has a better memory than the majority of people her age. The pharmacist told her to discontinue using (generic) Benadryl (an antihistamine) for sleep because it depresses a part of the brain related to memory skills. She was told she's better off not sleeping than she is using it for sleep.


The better news is that (in the words of the Geriatrician) mom is "hip"! Not only does she know current events (including President Obama's visit to Roscoe's) but her favorite program is "The Big Bang Theory" and she's Pro-Choice. What can be better than that? might be going through your head...
THE BEST NEWS: There was NO abnormality in the CT scan of my mom's head. It turns out that because of her cancer history, the Radiologist wants an MRI. The CT results were normal! The nurse who called misread the reason! I'm slightly pissed, but I'm more relieved than anything. ALL of us are relieved about this, and I want to thank all of you who sent me encouraging messages and prayed for her. It's nice to know that if I need to talk, there are people here who will listen. The MRI is on Friday, and I'm sure she'll have negative (good) results.